Tremblay gives up signing duties
As the RCMP begins a criminal investigation into the three federal contracts worth $1.6-million to a Liberal-friendly Montreal marketing firm, one of the senior civil servants identified by the Auditor General as demonstrating an “appalling disregard for the Financial Administration Act,” has voluntarily given up his signing authority. Auditor General Sheila Fraser said two senior […]
New Grit MP Frulla shocked by chaotic Lower Chamber [Seven new MPs tell all about first impressions of Ottawa and what they want to achieve as MPs
When newly-elected Quebec Liberal MP Liza Frulla, an effervescent former journalist and Quebec culture minister, emerged from her first day of Question Period on the Hill last Tuesday, she was little shell-shocked. She was shocked by the heckling, the constant chatter, the noise and the games in the Lower Chamber and in the confusion, she […]
Lobbyists need a strategy of their own, talk about guilt by association: why don’t you
What is a lobbyist to do? The daily onslaught of front-page coverage heralding “corruption,” “conflict of interest,” “ethical transgressions” and the “integrity challenged” invariably also includes reference to the “activities of lobbyists.” Talk about guilt by association! The irony is that many, though not all, lobbyists have a central role in how these stories play […]
Liberals’ anti-terrorist bill one scary piece of legislation [Bill C-55: Public Safety Act]
Ottawa has got public safety priorities all wrong. Just look at how the governing Liberals reintroduced their second omnibus anti-terrorist bill, C-55, which they insist on calling a less draconian Public Safety Act. What concerns me most is that Ottawa wants to claim a more active and invasive role in public safety but only if […]
Who’s inviting who to annual Parliamentary Press Gallery Dinner: CBC television’s Hill reporter Julie Van Dusen, a.k.a. ‘Jugular Julie’ to bring Auditor General Sheila Fraser
The Parliamentary Press Gallery Dinner, once an off-the-record evening of all-male drunken rowdiness, racy speeches, and some bad behaviour, is a sold-out affair Saturday night. Some 550 tickets were sold. Started at the time of Confederation, the annual gala for journalists and politicians to schmooze is today a more sophisticated affair. There’s still some bad […]
Radwanski under political fire: But George Radwanski makes no apologies for style
Two Liberal MPs are attacking Federal Privacy Commissioner George Radwanski ‘s confrontational approach to public policy issues and former privacy commissioner John Grace says Mr. Radwanksi’s style is “dangerous.” But in an interview with The Hill Times, Mr. Radwanski defended his style, saying in this post-Sept. 11 world when privacy rights are at a crossroads, […]
PM loyalists push for later dates [for delegate selection for 2003 convention]
Top pro-Chretien loyalists are pushing the party’s national executive to move delegate selection meetings for next year’s Liberal biennial convention to December or January rather than this fall, says a Liberal insider. According to the same Liberal insider, Prime Minister Chretien (Saint-Maurice, Que.) is likely to get a 75 per cent to 80 per cent […]
Public Works audit cleared sponsorships in March: Problems were known two years ago and ‘fixed’ [Internal audit]
Public Works and Government Services Canada’s new internal “Audit and Ethics” Branch gave its stamp of approval to the department’s entire sponsorship program last month just weeks before the Auditor General called in the RCMP to investigate the same sponsorship contracts. The Liberals are now facing allegations of corruption and sleaziness in the House and […]
Patry third candidate to announce candidacy for Liberal Party: ‘I love politics, we both love politics, but we’re able to talk about something else too’: Francoise Patry
Francoise Patry, president of the Quebec wing of Liberal Party of Canada and wife of Quebec Liberal MP Bernard Patry, is running for one of the party’s top jobs. Ms. Patry is the third person to officially declare her candidacy in the race to replace Liberal Party President Stephen LeDrew. The campaign will cost each […]
Grit Senator attacks Liberals’ nuclear bill, calls it ‘very biased’ [Bill C-27, the Nuclear Fuel Waste Bill]
A government bill to set up a $550-million agency designed to develop Canada’s long-term nuclear waste policy is coming under fire by a Liberal-dominated Senate committee because the body won’t be subject to the Access to Information Act or the Auditor General’s Office. “We’re having quite a bit of trouble with that bill,” declared Alberta […]
